February 21, 2012 - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday denied reproducing certain bank records pertaining to Chief Justice Renato Corona's deposits at Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), as earlier implied by some senator judges during Monday's impeachment proceedings.

Senator-Judge Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada had spoken during Monday's hearing that he was convinced the leaked bank records of Corona could not have possibly come from PSBank.

In a statement, BSP said the examiners who checked the records of Philippine Savings Bank late last year "did not access the deposit account records which include the signature cards of Chief Justice Renato Corona. They never requested to see the deposit account records of the Chief Justice, nor were they presented the deposit account records of the Chief Justice."

Therefore, BSP added, the examiners did not secure copies of the records nor were these records reproduced. BSP examiner Jeremy Leal reportedly limited his discussion with PSBank officers to the bank's compliance with prescribed protocols to list certain types of depositors depositors under the category PEP, an acronym for Politically Exposed Personalities.

The PEP list is one of the requirements set by BSP as part of the government's anti-money laundering compliance program.

In the statement, BSP stated that, "having noted that the Chief Justice is PSBank's client, examiner Jerry Leal verified PSBank's policy on politically exposed persons, or PEP. Examiner Leal then requested for PSBank's PEP list".

PSBank President to appear again as witness

Philippine Savings Bank President Pascual Garcia is expected to be called once more to the witness stand on Tuesday afternoon to continue his testimony on the PSBank accounts related to the audit conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Garcia is being asked to present records of the identities of the team who conducted the audit. he was unable to confirm if the auditors included a representative from AMLC.

The Senator-judges are also expected to resolve the issue of verifying the authenticity of Corona's signature cards. Garcia and PSBank Katipunan Branch Manager Anabelle Tiongson insisted that the photocopies of the signature cards that the prosecution team obtained did not match the original document in the branch.

Garcia is expected to shed light on a copy of the signature card allegedly shown to the audit team; the list of alleged discrepancies discerned in the photocopies, and yet another original copy of the signature card.

A representative from the Bank of Philippine Islands is also expected to appear and testify on Corona's monthly bank statements.

ACL / Reportage from Ina Andolong and Cherrie Regalado